Telegraph Travel writer wins Dolman award

John Gimlette, a regular contributor to Telegraph Travel, has won the 2012 Dolman Travel Book of Year.

John Gimlette's title recalls his travels in the remote corners of the GuyanasPhoto: ALAMY

The Telegraph - 06 Sep 2012

John Gimlette, a regular contributor to Telegraph Travel, has won the 2012 Dolman Travel Book of the Year award for Wild Coast: Travels on South America’s Untamed Edge (Profile), an account of his journeys in the Guianas.

He explored the dense jungles between the Orinoco and the Amazon rivers, stumbling upon remote villages, snakes and the hideouts of runaway slaves.

“I’m extremely honoured to have won this award, and have that slight sense of guilt that I don’t really deserve it,” he said. “The book has occupied much of the past four years of my life - my family has had to put up with a lot - not least my long absences, in either South America or the attic.”

He added that he is currently planning a journey through Sri Lanka.

The chairman of the judges for the award – named after Bill Dolman, a former chairman of the Authors’ Club – was Tony Wheeler, founder of the guidebook publisher Lonely Planet. He said Wild Coast was “a story that transports you to a place you barely knew about before, and all done with a relaxed nonchalance that totally disregards the tough travels clearly involved.” Mr Gimlette has been writing for Telegraph Travel for nearly 15 years, on subjects as varied as Paraguay and island-hopping in the Ionian.

The other shortlisted authors were Julia Blackburn (Thin Paths: Journeys in and around an Italian Village), Colin Thubron (To a Mountain in Tibet), Olivia Laing (To the River: a Journey Beneath the Surface), Jacek Hugo-Bader (White Fever) and Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts (Harlem is Nowhere).